Sam Raimi on Spider-Man 3 and Spider-Man 4

Sam Raimi had Anne Hathaway in mind for his aborted Spider-Man 4, it's been revealed...

This weekend, Sam Raimi has a brand new blockbuster in cinemas, and predictions are that Oz The Great And Powerful will be a sizeable hit. If history had turned out a bit differently though, he may still have been working on the Spider-Man movies.

Raimi, of course, was all set to make Spider-Man 4, before the project was canned and Sony opted for a full reboot, with what became The Amazing Spider-Man. Raimi, in an interview with Vulture, has insisted though that it was all pretty friendly.

"It really was the most amicable and undramatic of breakups", Raimi said. "It was simply that we had a deadline and I couldn't get the story to work on a level that I wanted it to work. I was very unhappy with Spider-Man 3, and I wanted to make Spider-Man 4 to end on a very high note, the best Spider-Man of them all".

When Raimi realised he couldn't hit the deadline - Spider-Man 4 had been announced for a 2011 release, after all - he went to Sony and suggested the studio pressed ahead with its reboot instead. "So we left on the best of terms, both of us trying to do the best thing for fans, the good name of Spider-Man, and Sony Studios", said Raimi.

But he did have one more tease for Spider-Man, confirming that he had Anne Hathway in mind for the role of Black Cat/Felicia Hardy. "I didn't see Batman yet", Raimi told Vulture, "but I hear she's great in it. I'm not surprised. I loved what she was doing with the auditions for Spider-Man 4".

Our own interview with Sam Raimi will be live tomorrow. You can read his chat with Vulture right here.